Lesson 4. The Ship's Crew

THE SHIP’S CREW

There is a lot of complex equipment on board modern ships so it is necessary to have skilled crews to operate the ships. The organization of the crew of a cargo ship is changing but usually there are at least two departments on such ships: the Deck Department and the Engine Department.

The Deck Department includes navigators, radio-officers, a boatswain, sailors and a doctor. We call navigators according to their rank on board ship: the Master (Captain), the Chief Officer (First Mate), the Second Officer (Second Mate), the Third Officer (Third Mate), the Fourth Officer (Fourth Mate).

The Master is responsible for the ship, her cargo and the crew. He must be an experienced navigator.

The Chief Officer is the Master’s main assistant and the Head of the Deck Department. He must be always ready to replace the Master and perform his duties.

All the navigators must keep watch on the navigating bridge. They may not leave it when on watch. The navigators relieve each other of watch every four hours. Every navigator must know how to define the ship’s position, to plot her course on the chart and take bearings.

Radio officers keep watch in the radio-room and are responsible for radio-communications. There is often one or two Radio officers on board ship but on ships with continuous radio watches there may be even three radio officers.

A Boatswain and sailors must keep the ship’s hull, holds and tackle in good condition. Ship's ratings constantly do cleaning, painting and repair work under the supervision of the Boatswain.

The Boatswain and the Carpenter are directly responsible to the Chief Officer. The Boatswain sees that his orders and orders of other deck officers are carried out by the crew. He is a man with a lot of knowledge and practical experience in seamanship. The Carpenter is usually a qualified shipwright. His regular duty is to sound the tanks and bilges to check the depth of liquids in them.

The Engine Department consists of the Chief Engineer, the Second, Third and Fourth Engineers, some motormen and two or three electricians. They keep watch in the engine-room and must maintain and repair its equipment.

Only well-qualified sailors can perform their duties properly that’s why the crew’s training is very important.

I. Read the text and answer the questions.
1. How many departments are there on board ship? What are they?
2. Who is the Head of the Deck Department?
3. Who is the Head of the Engine Department?
4. Who keeps watch on the navigating bridge?
5. Who keeps watch in the radio room?
6. What are the Boatswain and the sailors responsible for?
7. What kind of man can be a Boatswain?
8. What are the duties of a Carpenter?
9. Who keeps watch in the engine-room?
10. Why is it necessary to have skilled crews on board ships?

II. Find in the text English equivalents for the following word combinations.
сучасне судно, складне обладнання, палубна служба, машинне відділення, бути відповідальним за, складатися з, бути готовим замінити капітана, нести вахту, заміняти один одного на вахті, висококваліфікований, підготовка (навчання) екіпажу, визначати місцезнаходження судна, ремонтувати обладнання, брати пеленг, виконувати обов'язки